Manuel "Manolo" Cidre Miranda (born 1953) is a Cuban-born Puerto Rican businessman and politician who became, on December 1, 2015, an official candidate for

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico ( es, gobernador de Puerto Rico) is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and commander-in-chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard. The governor has a duty ...

. He lost the election to

Ricardo Rosselló Ricardo Antonio Rosselló Nevares (; born March 7, 1979) is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2017 to 2019. He resigned on August 2, 2019, after protests related to the Telegramgate scandal. He is the s ...

. He was appointed by Governor-Elect Pedro R. Pierluisi on December 2, 2020 as incoming

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

of the

Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce The Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce is the executive department of the government of Puerto Rico responsible for the economic development in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and all its commerce related matters. ...

Biography

Manuel Cidre arrived in Puerto Rico from his native Cuba at a young age, first living in the northern coastal city of Arecibo. In 1978 he started a company in Bayamon named "Los Cidrines", which sells bakery goods and bread in Puerto Rico along with his brother, Guillermo Cidre. The company also sells in the US market, with this operation managed by his sister Maria Cidre. He has served in multiple community and philanthropic organizations in Puerto Rico, and as the president of the following associations: * Asociación Productos de Puerto Rico * Asociación de Industriales de Puerto Rico * Alianza para el Desarrollo de PR (founder) * Small Business Development & Technology Center

Personal life

Manuel Cidre has 4 children and 6 grandchildren. He is married to Anabelle Colón.

Political career

Cidre ran for Governor of Puerto Rico during the

Puerto Rican general election, 2016 The 2016 Puerto Rican general elections were held in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 to elect the officials of the Puerto Rican government that will serve from January 2017 to January 2021, most notably the Governor of Puerto Rico. Ross ...

as an independent candidate. Asked by

Carmen Jovet Carmen Jovet Esteves (born June 9, 1944) is a journalist and the first Puerto Rican woman news anchor in Puerto Rico. Early years Carmen Jovet Esteves, daughter of Manolín Jovet-Viruet and Doña Carmen "Cuca" Esteves, was born and raised in Maya ...

which of the three main ideologies in Puerto Rico (statehood, free association or independence) he identified with, he declined to identify himself with any of them but commented that he is against Puerto Rico's status as a colony. In the debate of Young in

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...

he declared that he will not support statehood.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cidre, Manuel 1953 births Living people People from Arecibo, Puerto Rico Cuban businesspeople Cuban emigrants to Puerto Rico Cuban politicians 21st-century Puerto Rican politicians